Norman Conquest and Subjection of English

Battle of Hastings

The decisive military encounter in 1066 that resulted in the death of Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson and the victory of William of Normandy.

Motte-and-bailey

A type of fortified stronghold introduced by the Normans featuring a raised earthwork mound topped by a keep and an adjacent enclosed courtyard.

Harrying of the North

A punitive military campaign from 1069 to 1070 that devastated northern England through mass starvation and destruction of property to suppress regional rebellion.

Domesday Book

A grand administrative manuscript completed in 1086 recording landholders, agricultural assets, and tax obligations across England for William I.

Murdrum fine

A communal financial penalty levied on a local hundred if a slain Norman was found and the perpetrator was not produced.

Forest Law

A strict legal code that reserved vast tracts of woodland for the monarch's hunting and imposed severe penalties for unauthorized foraging or poaching.

Feudal land tenure

A system established after 1066 wherein the monarch claimed supreme ownership of all territory, granting estates to tenants-in-chief in exchange for military service and loyalty.

Lanfranc

The Italian-Norman scholar appointed Archbishop of Canterbury in 1070 to reorganize the English Church and replace Anglo-Saxon bishops with Norman clergy.